Lois Kazakoff: Little city of Bell sets off tsunami of reform

Those who have advocated for years for closer scrutiny of public employees’ salaries and pensions could barely believe the tidal wave of public outrage unleashed this week over that very topic.

Once the Los Angeles Time broke the story two weeks ago that the Bell city manager was paid nearly $800,000 a year — and would receive a $600,000 a year pension — while city council members paid themselves $100,000 a year — phones began ringing all over the state. Irate citizens wanted to know how much THEIR officials were paid.

City managers met in Sacramento today to discuss damage control at the League of California Cities annual meeting. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger challenged municipal executives to post their officials’ salaries. Such information is part of the public record, but not easily found.

While the furor largely is directed at Bell, a working-class city in Southern California, San Francisco is not immune from practices that make it difficult for taxpayers to track pension costs — and what it will cost the city down the road. Want to learn more? Read John Diaz’s column in Sunday’s Insight.